Paying our respects

Whenever and wherever Betsey and I travel, we try to include some Jewish sites.  I’m especially interested in synagogue architecture, but we also seek to discover Jewish neighborhoods, Jewish museums and Holocaust memorials.  Some cemeteries too.

In April, when riding from Florence to southern Tuscany in Italy, our driver asked if we would like to take a slight detour to visit the American military cemetery known as Via Cassia (since it adjoins the ancient Roman road built by Cassius).

As a Black man born in Eritrea, Samuel himself was a quite fascinating person.  His ancestors had lived there during the Italian occupation, which began in the late 19th century and ended after World War II.

A decade ago, Betsey and I were fortunate to pay our respects to U.S. servicemen (and perhaps some women) on a visit to Normandy, in France.  Our visit coincided with the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s grandson, David, a historian, was there to greet our group.

Betsey and I also participated in a brief, nondenominational service before wandering through countless rows of American graves, including some adorned with Stars of David.

Tuscany’s serene cemetery, dedicated in 1960, holds the remains of about 4,400 American servicemen, or about 40% of the members of the Fifth Army, who lost their lives in northern Italy during World War II.

Rather than feeling temporarily deprived of more pleasurable pursuits to see a cemetery, Betsey and I were stirred by enormous respect and gratitude for our heroes.

As in Normandy, we searched for the tiny number of Jewish graves, and I took some photos.

After returning home, perhaps I could learn more about a few of these young men – far younger than our two children.  Here are some facts that I gathered:

Jerome A. Friedman, who was born on Feb. 25, 1909, in Dickson City, Pennsylvania, died on June 14, 1944, in Orbetello, Tuscany.  His father, Benjamin, was born in Austria and emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1904.  His mother, Sarah, also Austrian-born, had emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1883, but died before reaching 50 years old.

Jerome was the youngest of the four Friedman siblings. The eldest, Helen, passed away in 2005 at 94 years of age.  All the Friedman siblings are buried in Jewish cemeteries.

In September of 1943, before enlisting in the Army in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Jerome had lived in Jermyn, in Lackawanna County.  A college graduate, he worked as retail manager for Jermyn Mill & Grain.  Standing only 5-feet-4-inches tall (about my height), he weighed 150 pounds.  Jerome, a private, earned a Purple Heart.

Arnold Meckenberg was born on Oct. 8, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York.  Both his parents, Philip and Grace, were native New Yorkers, but their parents were Russian-born.  Philip enlisted in 1917, proudly serving in the American army for three years during World War I.  He later worked as a chauffeur and a “public hack.”  Arnold, who was Rita’s elder brother, had registered for the draft in December 1942 while a student at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.  He was 5-feet-11-inches tall and weighed 195 pounds.

A private with the 350th Infantry, Arnold was killed on Sept. 28, 1944, and received a Purple Heart.

By the way, Rita was a nursing student at Boston State Hospital in 1945 and married in Boston six years later.  She died at age 91.

Doesn’t every American Jew know somebody named Seymour Levine?  That’s why it was so difficult – nearly impossible – to gather information about a private first class who served with the First Armored Division and died in Italy on April 19, 1945.  He too was decorated with a Purple Heart.

I was able to identify three Seymour Levines who served in the Army during World War II.  One Seymour was the son of David, who lived in Brooklyn.  This Seymour was born in 1919 and, before enlisting, lived at 940 Lafayette Ave.

I was able to learn the most about a fourth soldier buried in Tuscany, Herbert Friedwald, a sergeant with the First Armored Division, who perished on June 25, 1944. He was the recipient of a Purple Heart, a Silver Star and France’s Croix De Guerre.  Yes, a cross.

The 1930 federal census shows that the Friedwald family lived at 545 West 111 St. in Manhattan.  Herbert’s father, Paul, a salesman in a dress shop, was 40 years of age and was born in Paris.  His wife, Gladys, four years younger, was born in New York.  Herbert, then 13, had three younger siblings.  An Irish-born maid, Nora Laffey, also lived with the family.

An entirely different situation was revealed through the 1940 census.  Paul had died, and Gladys and her three younger children were living with her Russian-born parents, Jacob and Eva Schiffman, both 67 years of age, at 640 West 170th St.

Herbert had attended high school for three years, and his 1940 draft registration card shows that he worked for Mohawk Trousers, at 16 West 23rd St.  He was more than 5-feet-10-inches tall and weighed 175 pounds.

In 1941, Herbert married Annette Levy, a New York native.

The 1950 federal census shows that Annette, a widow, was living with her father, Willie, a German native and a haberdasher.  By the end of that year, however, she married Roy L. Nassau, a native of Columbus, Ohio, born in 1916.  He had two years of college before enlisting in the Army in 1942 and serving four years.

Annette and Roy Nassau made their home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and died at ages 90 and 84, respectively.  They had four sons, including one with mental retardation and cerebral palsy who died at 55 years old.  An infant boy, born prematurely in 1951, lived for only two days.

If and when you visit Tuscany, perhaps you too will feel uplifted by a slight detour to Via Cassia Cemetery.  Most likely, any other American military cemetery would also bestow comparable pride and gratitude during these gut-wrenching times.

GEORGE M. GOODWIN, of Providence, is the editor of Rhode Island Jewish Historical Notes.